Udine's widespread literary festival: four days of books, ideas, and great guests throughout the city
For four days at the beginning of June, Udine transforms into a large open-air book: it is La Notte dei Lettori, the widespread literary festival promoted by the Municipality of Udine as part of the "Città che Legge" (City that Reads) project. Squares, bookshops, libraries, museums, cloisters, and gardens become "stations" of the festival, visited by writers, scientists, philosophers, journalists, and artists.
The program brings together more than 60 events and over a hundred guests spread across dozens of venues throughout the city. Meetings with authors, lectio magistralis, readings, concert-shows, philosophical workshops, guided tours, and a Kids & Young section dedicated to children make up a mosaic that fosters dialogue between literature, current affairs, science, and the environment. Each edition revolves around a guiding theme that runs through the entire program.
The artistic direction curates a calendar capable of bringing top Italian cultural figures to the city, in evocative spaces such as the former Church of San Francesco and the Teatro Nuovo Giovanni da Udine. The strength of the event lies precisely in its widespread nature: the festival is not concentrated in a single location but invites visitors to explore Udine from one venue to another, discovering its glimpses and monuments.
Born in 2014, in just a few years La Notte dei Lettori has become a benchmark for readers throughout Friuli Venezia Giulia, attracting an ever-increasing audience. An event that celebrates reading as a community gesture and the city of Udine as a place where ideas circulate and meet.
The thirteenth edition of La Notte dei Lettori enlivens Udine from June 4th to 7th, 2026, with previews starting May 30th. The chosen theme is "La cura – Vê cure – I care", explored through over 60 events and around a hundred guests distributed across the 29 festival stations. The artistic direction is by Martina Delpiccolo.
Serena Bertolucci, Franco Arminio, Luca Mercalli, Luciano Violante, Licia Colò, Enrico Galiano, and many others, with meetings, lectures, readings, and workshops.
"Eden Live_Udine – Un pianeta da salvare" (Eden Live_Udine – A Planet to Save), a talk inspired by the TV program Eden with Licia Colò, Valerio Rossi Albertini, Roberto Giacobbo, a remote contribution by philosopher Rosi Braidotti, and accompanied by The Rhythm and Blues Band.
The events take place in dozens of venues in Udine's historic center, all within walking distance between the festival's stations.
The complete program and participation details for individual events are published on the official website lanottedeilettori.com.
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